Apparatus for repairing steel supporting piles

ABSTRACT

A cylindrical form is positioned around that portion of a steel pile which is to be repaired and the lower end of the form closed by a bottom plate having an opening therethrough closely conforming to the configuration of the pile. The bottom plate is provided with a nipple to which a hose is detachably connected through which concrete is pumped. Setscrews in the nipple are threaded into a groove on the hose insert to hold the insert into position. The bottom plate is released from the concrete by means of a plurality of bolts threaded into nuts secured on the bottom plate so that threading the bolts inwardly causes the bolt ends to push against the concrete and release the bottom plate therefrom.

United States Patent 1 [111 3,728,864

Wiswell, Jr. 51 Apr. 24, 1973 1 APPARATUS FOR REPAIRING STEEL SUPPORTING PILES Primary Examiner.lacob Shapiro [76] lnventor: George C. Wiswell, Jr., 1014 Pequot Atmmey smythe & Moore Road, Southport, Conn. 06490 57] ABSTRACT [22] Filedi Mar. 4, 1971 App]. No.: 121,005

A cylindrical form is positioned around that portion of a steel pile which is to be repaired and the lower end of the form closed by a bottom plate having an opening therethrough closely conforming tothe configuration of the pile. The bottom plate is provided with a nipple to which a hose is detachably connected through which concrete is pumped. Setscrews in the nipple are threaded into a groove on the hose insert to hold the insert into position. The bottom plate is released from the concrete by means of a plurality of bolts threaded into nuts secured on the bottom plate so that threading the bolts inwardly causes the bolt ends to push against the concrete and release the bottom plate therefrom.

5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENIEDYAPR 24 ms 3 728', 864

ATTORNEYS APPARATUS FOR REPAIRING STEEL SUPPORTING PILES One form of construction of piers, which are intended to carry heavy loads, includes driving steel piles into the bottom of the harbor and building concrete caps or other related structures on the piles so that the piers mounted thereon can support the heavy loads. Since each pile must support a considerable weight, it is of paramount importance that these piles retain as near as possible their complete structural integrity. Such steel piles have various cross sections although an H- section is commonly used.

After years of service, these steel piles suffer from corrosion, particularly in the splash zone. Where the steel has deteriorated only to a limited extent, continued corrosion can be arrested by application of a suitable underwater splash-zone epoxy. While this procedure arrests corrosion, it does not restore the strength of the pile, so that in some cases individual piles may be undergoing a greater stress than that for which they were originally designed. It has been proposed to apply reinforced concrete to the corroded portions of the steel piles. Previously known procedures and apparatus for applying reinforcing concrete have not been satisfactory since they have been extremely time consuming and costly, because of the necessity for cofferdamming the area around the piers and erecting a form around each pile which was to be reinforced. Not only was this procedure costly, but it resulted in the disruption of normal pier operations.

It was then proposed to position a reinforcing steel cage around that portion of the pile which was to be coated with concrete and surrounding this cage with a cylindrical form. The lower end of the form was then closed with a bottom plate. Concrete was then pumped upwardly through a suitable connection in the bottom plate into the cylindrical form to displace the water from the form until the form was filled with concrete. After the concrete was cured, the bottom plate and clamps for the form were removed, and the form was of such a material that it was left in place to gradually deteriorate.

While the above described apparatus was generally satisfactory, difficulties were occasionally encountered in detachably connecting the hose to the bottom plate and subsequently in releasing the bottom plate from the concrete after the concrete was hardened.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for applying reinforced concrete to a portion of a steel pier.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved detachable connection for securing the hose insert to an opening in the bottom plate for the pumping of concrete therethrough.

Another object of the present invention is to provide simple and effective devices for releasing the bottom plate from the hardened concrete.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for releasing a detachable component of a concrete form from the concrete may comprise a form member contacting the concrete, there being an opening through said member. Means are nonrotatably mounted on the outer face of the member, and a threaded passage is provided in the means so as to be aligned with the opening. A bolt is threaded into the passage and opening so that continued threading of the bolt toward the concrete will cause the end of the bolt to engage the hardened concrete and to push the member away from the concrete.

A detachable connection for a hose may comprise an annular nipple having a plurality of setscrews threaded into the wall thereof with a hose insert being slidably received within the nipple. The outer face of the insert is provided with recess means which may comprise an annular groove to receive the ends of the setscrews whereby the insert is locked within the nipple.

Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the accompanying description and drawings, which are merely exemplary.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a side elevational view of the cylindrical form positioned around a pile and incorporating the detachable connection and release devices of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the lower end of the form in FIG. 1 but in enlarged scale to illustrate the nipple;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the outer surface of the bottom plate showing the slide door for the nipple in exploded relation thereto;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the bottom end of the form of FIG. I and showing the released devices according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIG. 5 with only the outer ends being shown in section and illustrating a modification of the release device of this invention;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the nut and retaining washer forming a component of the release device of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an end view of the nut and washer structure of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9-'9 of FIG. 6.

Proceeding next to the drawings wherein like reference symbols indicate the same parts throughout the various views, a specific embodiment and modifications of the present invention will be described in detail.

A steel supporting pile which is to be jacketed is indicated at It) in FIGS. 1 and 2. After first cleaning the pile of marine growth, a bottom plate 11, shown in greater detail in FIG. 4, is suspended from the pile cap 12 by means of suitable cables or the like which are not shown in the drawings. The bottom plate 11 is essentially circular in section and has an I-I-shaped opening 13 therethrough which closely conforms to the configuration of the pile It]. Bottom plate 11 is made in halves 11a and lIb which are bolted together by means of cooperating brackets 14 welded on the underside of the bottom plate halves. A vertical peripheral wall 15 is welded to the upper face of the bottom plate. While not shown in the drawings, reinforcing or bracing plates may be welded to the underside of the bottom plate halves adjacent the opening 13.

A feed nipple 16 is mounted on the underside of the bottom plate and communicates with an opening 17 therein. The nipple 16 is for the purpose of introducing concrete into the form and may be closed by means of a sliding door or valve 18, shown in greater detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. The nipple which is annular in shape is provided with a plurality of setscrews 19 threaded into its annular wall and spaced equidistantly therearound.

A flexible pipe or hose 20, through which concrete is to be pumped into the form, is connected to the feed nipple 16 by means of an insert 21 having a portion 22 which is slidably received within the insert. Portion 22 is provided with annular groove 23 or some other form of a recess in order to receive the inner ends of the setscrews 19. Setscrews 19 are threaded into nuts 24 which may be welded on the outer face of the nipple 16 in alignment with opening through which the setscrews are threaded.

While the setscrews 19 are all positioned at approximately the same distance from the outer end 25 of the feed nipple, these setscrews may be arranged in some other pattern so as to correspond with other types of splines, grooves, or recesses on the outer surface of the hose insert 22. The clearance between the outside diameter of the concrete hose 20 and the inside diameter of the nipple 16 should be of sufficient size to guarantee that the hose will not jam during insertion because of an overflow of concrete.

The sliding gate valve or door 18 is actuated into its closed position to close the feed nipple and to retain the concrete within the form. Gate valve 18 slides beneath a base plate 26 having an opening 17 therethrough corresponding to the inner diameter of the nipple 16. Base plate 26 is mounted on a plurality of blocks 27 on the outer face of bottom plate half 11b. The blocks 27 are evenly spaced along the side for pressure relief while moving the door to its closed position. The closed position of the door is determined by a stop 28 also welded onto bottom half 11b. The door 185 slides between guides 29 and may be provided with some form of a handle to facilitate movement'thereof. The front edge of the door slide, indicated at 30, is ground thin or to a point. In some cases, an angular cut across the face instead of a round face as disclosed would be suitable. The shape of edge 30 of the door slide will depend on the aggregate size and concrete slump and thickness. Also, the openings between the mounting blocks 27 will depend on the slump and aggregate size of the concrete being pumped into the form. Thus, when the door slide 18 is in its fully closed position, its forward edge 30 will abut the stop 28.

To facilitate the removal of the bottom plate 11 from the form after the concrete has been cured, the bottom plate is provided with a plurality of release or knock-off devices indicated generally at 40 in FIG. 5. The device comprises a nut 41 welded to the outer face of bottom plate 1 1 with the opening through the nut being aligned with a clearance hole 42 formed in the bottom plate. A bolt 43 is then threaded into nut 41 into substantially the position as shown in FIG. 5, and the space between the bolt end and the clearance hole 42 is packed with grease, clay, lead or the like, before the concrete is poured into the form. The end of bolt 43 indicated at 44 is substantially flush with the inner face of the bottom plate 1 1 so as to define a form surface.

After the concrete has hardened and cured, the bottom .plate is quickly released from the concrete merely by screwing the bolts 43 inwardly toward the concrete so that the end of the bolt 44 bears against the concrete and causes the bottom plate 11 to be forced away therefrom.

A modification of the release or knock-off device is shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 and is indicated generally at in FIG. 6. This modification comprises a square body or base 51 whose width is slightly greater than the width across head 52 of bolt 53. Body 51 is received within a correspondingly shaped opening 54 in bottom plate 1 1. Body 51 is so dimensioned with respect to the opening 54 that the body can be inserted therein by a force fit by'hand or with a light hammer. A washer 55 is welded onto the inner end of square body 51 and is positioned against the inner face of bottom plate 11 in the position as shown in FIG. 6. Bolt 53 is then threaded into the square body 51 in the same manner as in the released device 40 of FIG. 5. Square body 51 in the square opening 54 prevents turning of the body when bolt 53 is being threaded therein.

The modification 50 of FIG. 6 may be primarily used for disposable form removal and other soft hardware that may bind in the concrete, but it is not limited to this use.

When concrete is to be applied around a pile, bottom plate 11 is first positioned around the pile and may be suspended from the pile cap by means of a suitable cable or the like. A reinforcing cage indicated generally at in FIG. 1 is fabricated on the surface by welding of reinforcing steel bars. The cage may be formed in two parts which are then assembled around thepile 10 and supported thereon by means of hanger bars which pass through holes burned in the pile and welded thereto.

The cylindrical form 60 is then positioned around the cage and on the upper face of the bottom plate 11. The form may comprise a two-piece longitudinally split plastic impregnated fiberboard form, with the two halves of the form being joined together with suitable clamps or sealing strips to prevent leakage. The upper end of the form may be provided with weep holes 62 through which water and laitance emerges as concrete is being pumped upwardly into the form. The pumping of the concrete continues until concrete begins to emerge from the hole 62. Door slide 18 is then actuated to close the nipple, and the concrete within the form is allowed to cure.

After the concrete has been cured, clamps may be removed from each form and the bottom plate lowered therefrom after being released from the concrete by screwing the bolts of the release devices upwardly against the concrete. The fiberboard form may remain in position and will eventually deteriorate. The resulting structure is a steel pile 10 which has a reinforced concrete jacket around its portion which has been subjected to corrosive action. The pile now has an adequate load bearing characteristic in its weakened area which is sufficient to carry the load for which it has been designed.

It will be understood that various details of construction and arrangement of parts may be changed without departing from the spirit of the invention except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1 In a slide valve for a concrete supply passage in the bottom wall of a concrete form, the combination of a base plate having anopening therethrough aligned with the bottom wall opening to define a passage for concrete, spaced parallel members for mounting said base plate on the outer surface of the bottom wall of the form in spaced parallel relation thereto, and a gate slidably mounted between said base plate and bottom wall and said mounting members and movable between positions to open and close the concrete passage, said parallel mounting members each having a plurality of spaced lateral openings therein for pressure relief while closing the gate during flow of concrete through said passage.

2. In a slide valve as claimed in claim 1 wherein the forward edge of said gate is tapered to define a substantially linear edge.

3. In a slide valve as claimed in claim 2 wherein the forward edge of said gate is curved.

4. In a slide valve as claimed in claim 1 and comprising stop means on said bottom plate engagable by the forward edge of said gate when in the closed position.

5. In a slide valve as claimed in claim 1 and comprising means on said bottom plate outwardly of said base plate to guide the sliding movement of the gate between its opened and closed positions. 

1. In a slide valve for a concrete supply passage in the bottom wall of a concrete form, the combination of a base plate having an opening therethrough aligned with the bottom wall opening to define a passage for concrete, spaced parallel members for mounting said base plate on the outer surface of the bottom wall of the form in spaced parallel relation thereto, and a gate slidably mounted between said base plate and bottom wall and said mounting members and movable between positions to open and close the concrete passage, said parallel mounting members each having a plurality of spaced lateral openings therein for pressure relief while closing the gate during flow of concrete through said passage.
 2. In a slide valve as claimed in claim 1 wherein the forward edge of said gate is tapered to define a substantially linear edge.
 3. In a slide valve as claimed in claim 2 wherein the forward edge of said gate is curved.
 4. In a slide valve as claimed in claim 1 and comprising stop means on said bottom plate engagable by the forward edge of said gate when in the closed position.
 5. In a slide valve as claimed in claim 1 and comprising means on said bottom plate outwardly of said base plate to guide the sliding movement of the gate between its opened and closed positions. 